


Something Red

by DearDaaery



Category: Tanz der Vampire - Steinman/Kunze
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood Drinking, Brief mentions of murder, Dreams, F/M, Flashbacks, Fluff, Krolock getting dragged, Post-Canon, Processing the events of canon, Romance, Sarah gets her happy ending but not without asserting her dominance, bathing in an innocent and innocuous fashion, get wrecked roman polanski, not much by way of triggering
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-12
Updated: 2019-11-12
Packaged: 2021-01-29 04:50:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21404485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DearDaaery/pseuds/DearDaaery
Summary: The three times Krolock asked Sarah to marry him, and the one time she said yes. Prompt fill from Tumblr.
Relationships: Sarah Chagal/Graf von Krolock
Comments: 12
Kudos: 42





	Something Red

**Author's Note:**

> A prompt fill by the lovely caramelcosmiclatte on tumblr: "The three times Krolock asked Sarah to marry him, and the one time she said yes"

_November, 1881_

“Will you marry me?”

She was at a ball -  _ the  _ ball - dressed in a glamorous gown surrounded by fine things. Her dark suitor was on one knee in front of her, a glittering diamond ring in his hand, a hopeful gleam in his ancient eyes. They were at the center of the gilded ballroom. All of the guests were people more beautiful than she thought herself capable of imagining, and they looked on in excitement.

Well, this was what she wanted, was it not? A night spent outside of her dull village, where she could sip on champagne and nibble on gourmet foods and be toasted as the witty and elegant belle of the ball. She would waltz with a nobleman - tall, dark, and handsome - and he would fall madly in love with her. Here he was, left utterly breathless by her charms, and declaring his love and intention in front of everyone on the dance floor. She could be his, leave her boring life behind and he would provide her with everything her heart desired…

But this did not feel right.

Was this the freedom she craved? She was not entirely sure. Part of her ached to nod yes, to accept his offer, to scream her love for him to every witness on earth and in the heavens. She could have  _ everything _ . And yet...something about this was wrong. She barely knew this man. She could not dive headfirst into it. The rational part of her brain held her back.

_ Stupid girl _ . The want and desire inside herself chided her decision to cling to the known. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to steady herself. 

_ You will never have another opportunity like this.  _ The thoughts continued. _ Accept him before it is too late.  _ But she shook her head.

"I...I can’t," she sighed. He quirked an eyebrow in surprise. 

"Not now…" she continued, taking a few steps back from him. "Not like this…"

A frown of shock and despair crossed his face and she could no longer bear to look at it. She had no choice but to turn and run.

"Sarah, wait!" The dark suitor cried after her. She did not take the time to look back, trying to push her way through the dumbfounded guests.

"Somebody stop her, please!" She knew he would not rest until he had her, until he found her again. She felt her pulse quicken as the sea of nobility came after her, calling her back. She finally felt she could breathe again as she reached the door, opening it and relishing in the cool night air, but unable to shake the pounding in her head as they chanted her name.

_ Sarah...Sarah...Sarah… _

"Sarah! Saraaaaaah!" 

The eerie chanting of her name was replaced with her mother’s screeching. The pounding in her head was accompanied by a pounding at the door. And the cool night air she had escaped into was nothing but the sterile chill of her room on a winter's morning.

"Sarah Chagal, get up! There's work to be done!"

“Yes, Mama…” Sarah responded weakly, fully prepared to go back to sleep. She wanted to stay in bed and snuggle into the warmth of her blankets, sink into the comfort of her mattress, and alleviate the pounding in her head.

Mostly, she wanted to see him again.

It had felt so real...she was so sure it  _ had  _ been real. It was horrible how she was compelled to leave him like that. Even if he was just a figment of her imagination, she should not have been so impolite and dramatic about leaving. She desperately longed to go back to him, to make things right. To accept his offer the second time around.

But as she dressed in the cold air of her room, Sarah realized this was not the right time. Reality took hold of her once more. She could not leave just yet. Mama needed her help. Magda needed a friend. Papa, well, Papa did not understand her, and he was cruel sometimes, but that did not mean she could just up and leave. She had to make sure she would be safe, and free. Once her duties were fulfilled, once she saved a little money, once she came of age, then she could go searching, find him again, even be reunited with him in the flesh. For now, she would only be able to devote half of her time to her suitor. He would have to wait until nightfall to court her slowly in her dreams. She would live for the time when she could join him as she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

_December, 1898_

Little did she know the hour of her departure would arrive sooner than later, when her dark suitor would reveal himself to her and throw a ball in her honor. The guests would not be as beautiful as she imagined. The ballroom would not be gilded, but dark. He would not be such a gentleman. And the indecision she held over her choice would come back to haunt her for a lifetime, literally. 

Sarah did not know what made her start thinking of this tonight, at this particular ball. She had been to many balls over the years, as she climbed through the upper echelons of every major city in Europe. But tonight was the night of the winter solstice. The same night she had undergone her grand transformation, exactly seventeen years ago. 

Of course, the ball she was currently attending was not thrown in honor of the winter solstice. It was meant to mark the engagement of Lady So-and-so's daughter to The Baron Du-whatever-his-name-was. Dreadfully boring and dull, not helped by the fact that Sarah was a widow in half-mourning for her departed husband. Though Sarah supposed she had herself to blame for that.

Keeping up a fortune was not easy, and her chosen method was entrapping wealthy young heirs into marriage and then draining them of their delicious blood once the time was right. But the waiting periods in between of properly mourning them, no matter what country she was in or what identity she had taken up, were torturous. A ball was not a ball if you were meant to dress in an unremarkable dark mauve gown and stand forlornly at the sidelines.

It was lonely not being the center of attention. But Sarah had also learned it was lonely when she was. None of the husbands or eligible bachelors or gossipy peers or fashionable belles could give her what she so craved. This cycle she had made for herself needed to be broken.

Seventeen years since the night she was turned. She had spent a second lifespan searching for something to satiate the void in her life and she had to face what she always knew to be true, but did not want to admit.

She was free now, and would be free wherever she went, whether she was roaming or living in a fortified castle. The time to reunite with her dark suitor had arrived.   
  


* * *

_February 1899_

“I think we should get married.”

He brought it up one day, while he came to visit her as she bathed. He did that often. He would pull up a chair next to the bathtub so he could escape from dealing with his brood. Sometimes they would read in silence next to each other, other times they would talk about a variety of subjects. He would always take her hand, kiss it, and tell her how beautiful she looked.

But that opening line did not go very far in endearing her to this suggestion. Sarah nearly dropped the novel she was reading on that particular day into the tub, prompting the Count to reach out and catch it in the blink of an eye. 

She had wanted marriage, once upon a time. She desperately longed to become the second Countess von Krolock, to walk down the aisle with her dark suitor while she wore a white dress with voluminous skirts. She would have forsaken everything to be his bride. 

But she had given more than she bargained for at the ball, and sitting in the hot water as she had been on that night all those years ago, she was uncertain about what she wanted her fate to be.

This was nothing at all like she had expected, even when she grounded her expectations in the current reality and not the girlish fantasies of her past. For him to just blurt it out like  _ that?  _ During the time they had set aside to relax? How dare he.

"I...are you joking?"

"Absolutely not." His face was serious. 

She rolled her eyes and sank into the bubbles. "I've only recently returned, Stefan. I thought we agreed we would progress slowly with our relationship."

"I know, but I don't intend to spend eternity with anyone but you. Why not make you my wife?"

"I've been married before, you know. It doesn't mean much and I've already had the pomp and circumstance."

"Yes, I know, ten times before. I believe your most recent marriage made you Madame DeCarlo."

Sarah's eyes widened. "You...monitored me all these years?"

Stefan's eyes went wide. "No, I...I know how that must sound...I did not, I swear. I let you go Sarah, and I truly didn't think you were coming back...Herbert told me."

And  _ she _ had only told Alfred. Word spread fast in this castle and if it got to Herbert, he would dig for details. This was not their news to tell, and she considered planning an attempt at ripping their hearts out later. But here she was, being forced to confront this with him. 

"I didn't love them. I only wed them because they were handsome and wealthy and I could inherit their fortunes."

The corner of his mouth upturned in a smirk. "Quite impressive, I will say. Ambitious to marry so many men across Europe and ensnare them in such a trap. I knew you had it in you. The Greed."

"Oh, and that makes us soulmates, does it?"

"In fact, it does. You know it does."

He came down to the side of the tub and knelt so that his impossibly tall form was at her level. "Every vampire has a sin that carries over from their human life. Your deepest sin becomes amplified when one is turned, and it dominates one's personality and how they go about their undead existence. It will be one of the Seven Deadly Sins of the Christian variety, but really dating back to classical antiquity, for vampirism is an ancient affliction. Herbert is motivated by his Envy. Alfred has Pride. Your friend Magda is controlled by Wrath."

"And what does this have to do with  _ us  _ and why I should consent to  _ marry you? _ "

He took her hand that was on the side of the tub and laced their fingers together. "We, my love...we have Greed. The most vampiric of the sins. We hunger for more than we can have, we strive to conquer, we have an insatiable burning passion that will rule us forever. This is the rarest of the dark gifts, and it gives us vision, makes us fit to oversee our brethren. And only we have the authority and the power. Only we can understand each other."

He leaned in closer. "I once thought that I was torn between holding onto the scraps of my humanity and embracing my destiny as ruler of the night's brethren. But when the universe led me to you, I saw your true potential and it made me realize I did not have to choose. They are both in me, and they are both in you. We could achieve the balance I have longed for these past centuries. To cease our yearning and finally have enough."

Now he began eyeing her lips. "I must confess, you are the only thing that makes me feel satisfied in any way. Your presence alone eases the tension in me. You must feel the same."

As he lowered his head for a kiss, Sarah turned her head, pushing her nose firmly in the air. "If you want to win my hand you shall have to give me a better proposal than a business proposition to ease your masculine yearning. This is not the seventeenth century and I am not a sheltered maiden you can arrange yourself into a marriage with. I am not looking for power and wealth, which I have proven I can obtain on my own. I am looking for love and romance, something that was sorely lacking in your wooing of me the first time around."

He recoiled at that. She may have returned, they may have had an understanding about expressing their feelings, and he may have apologized, but she was far from letting go of the anger that she held towards him for making the decision to transform her. She would not have him suggesting or implying or imposing his view of her own feelings upon her.

Even if his perception was entirely correct.

"Shall I leave you to your bath then, my lady?" His voice was uncharacteristically low, almost a whisper. Only she could make him use a voice that small.

She did not turn her head to look at him. She only looked at him from the corner of her eyes with a stern line for her mouth as she responded. "Yes. That would be wise."

He backed out slowly and shut the door quietly behind him, so as to not disturb her any longer.

Sarah sighed and pulled out her sponge, lathering it over her skin to feel a soothing, calming repetitiveness from the action. It was true that he was the only one who would understand her. He was the only one who equaled her in her passions and emotions and desires. She would accept him, someday.

But she had an eternity to become his forever. For now she had to admit, she enjoyed watching this powerful man grovel and shrink in repentance.

* * *

_ August, 1899 _

“Marry me.”

It was dusk. Sarah liked to wait to catch the faint glimpse of sunset through the side of the drawn damask curtains in her quarters. And she always liked to watch from a safe distance, curled in his arms.

Since she had returned, Stefan had made arrangements to equip the master bedchambers with everything they needed to survive the days. A real king and queen, which is what he insisted they would be, lived in the luxury of wealth and comfort, not the severity of stone and death. They had their own wing, with a bedchamber for each of them, as was customary for the nobility of the day. Sarah did not understand why, other than for status.

Stefan rarely slept in his own bed. Most days he would sneak into Sarah’s chamber and gently sink into the mattress, wrapping his arms around her and placing a discreet kiss to the top of her head. Sarah would pretend to be asleep, but even when she could hardly keep her eyes open past daybreak she would keep herself awake to feel him comforting her. She would wake around sunset, slightly before him, to watch the sliver of colors through the line that Koukol left open in the curtains for her. They could not risk the full rays of sun, but she could take in the oranges and pinks and purples as long as she was not directly in its path. 

She supposed she continued to find the beauty in danger, even in her new life.

But him being awake during sunset was a rarity, and she did not know if he purposely forced himself to awaken to take advantage of the moment, or if he was tired and delirious.

Either way, she could not lie to herself and say that she did not enjoy it immensely.

She was no longer a girl. Her transformation had made sure of that, but even in the seventeen years that had passed, she was well into adulthood, and she had seen and done things that matured her well beyond her years. Her large eyes were both innocent and wise all at once. Her hair was always curled in an elegant fashion. Her nightgown was one of satin and lace and pearls, and her lover was currently running his hands absentmindedly across its straps along her shoulder. 

Yet, the slightest rumble in his voice made her blush like the girl who had shared a moment of vulnerability with the formidable vampire count in the portrait gallery all those years ago.

“You say foolish things when you talk in your sleep, Stefan.” She tried to dismiss the comment as something generated by drowsiness as she pressed her face deeper into her pillow. 

“I was under the impression I was awake, from the way I can feel the lace of your nightgown, and smell the scent of your lavender perfume, and hear your voice, clear as a bell.” He took in a deep breath without opening his eyes. “But if I am asleep please do not wake me. Somehow, in this moment here...I have found perfection in my miserable, wicked existence. I want it to last for the rest of the eternity we have.”   
  
“We have duties, Stefan. You always say so.”

“I would abandon all of those duties if it meant you would stay forever.”

Sarah broke their embrace, turning to face him. “What are you talking about? I’ve returned. I’m here, with you, right now.”   
  
“But you had not been. For seventeen years I spent my days forced to return alone to a claustrophobic coffin after having the slightest  _ taste  _ of you, after seeing the most fleeting glimpse of our future, all because you ran. Seventeen years. You do realize that was another  _ lifetime  _ for you? And you ran with good reason. I was...quite less than kind. I was ungentlemanly. A brute. And I did not stop to think about what you wanted.”

“Stefan…” She raised a hand to his cheek.   
  
“I apologize...so deeply for the pain I caused you. For how much was taken from you, for how I threw you into a world you should have resolved to join of your own volition. I may have learned how to control my bloodlust but I did not even begin to think about my own selfishness...I should have put you first. That is what you  _ do  _ for the people you love-”   
  
“Shh.” She hushed him. “I appreciate this, truly, I do. Just like I appreciate the countless other gestures you have put forth since my return.”

“I cannot bear the thought of losing you, my love.”   
  
She kissed him, softly. He was taken aback by the gesture, but he leaned into her tenderness nonetheless. It was apparent that he could not live without her. He  _ did  _ care. Now, he finally knew how to express it.   
  
“I know, my dear. We have made our amends. I am not going anywhere.” She squeezed his hand and smiled at him. “But for now, I’d like to watch the sunset. While I still can.”

“Of course.” He closed his eyes as she turned back toward the window, squeezing her tighter this time.

“Why do you want to get married so badly?” She asked as she settled into him.   
  
“I was happy when I was married.” He said. “I think it would suit us.”

“But that was when you were human. You are now a vampire. If you’ve denounced all ties to religion and morality then what is the point in a marriage?”   
  
“I love you...” He placed a kiss to her head. “I am a man of my word, and I would be upholding a vow because you mean so much to me…” A kiss to her cheek. “We would be married  _ as vampires,  _ it would be different...” A kiss to her neck.   
  
Sarah giggled, intrigued. “In what way?”   
  
“It is a unique ceremony.” He whispered in her ear. “With unique effects.” 

She rolled her eyes. “You’re avoiding the question by trying to seduce me once again. Please  _ explain. _ ”

He shifted back into the pillows. “Well, it has to take place on a night of total darkness. There will be a feast and at the end, the bride and groom will toast each other and drink their betrothed’s blood.”   
  
“You’ve already drank my blood. I could just bite you, and taste yours.”   
  
“The blood has to be cut and bled from the wrist into a platinum chalice for matrimonial consumption.”

“And the benefit to this as opposed to just walking down an aisle in a white dress and saying ‘I do’?” 

There was a hitch in his breath, like he was nervous to tell her what would be next. He was almost never nervous. “We would be...bonded. Permanently. We would gain great power from it, but we would need to stay together to access that power. If we left each other, it would cause us great pain. I am not sure how - there have been reports of bonded pairs being unable to walk if they are separated from their other, experiencing insanity if they try to leave, pain so unbearable one will attempt to take their own life if their partner were to die.”

“I see.” Sarah thought of the burning that would come if she were to reach out and touch the dimming sunlight that was making its way through the sliver of the curtains. Would it feel like that if somehow they were separated, if tragedy struck, if somehow she was wrong about returning and the wanderlust called her back out into the world?

She cleared the thought from her head. The burning, the emptiness, the pain she experienced  _ during  _ that wanderlust was why she decided to come back in the first place. There was no way it would return. There was no way she wanted to be anywhere but here, with him in the castle. Their home. She wanted to be by his side, and she wanted him to be by her side if she left. The wonders of the world were not worth experiencing through the crushing agony of loneliness.

“That is why I need you to make this decision, Sarah, it is a true commitment that we both must consent to, and potentially dangerous. If our hearts are both in it, it will not be, but if either of us are unsure, we cannot. I know how much you like your freedom. The last thing I want to do is entrap you any more than I already have.”

“And you would make this choice? Risk this danger? To be with me?”   
  
“I would not be asking you if I was not already sure I wanted to do it myself.”   
  
Sarah sighed. It was a true promise, a perilous vow, but he was willing to make it. For her. To give himself completely over. That meant something.   
  
“I’ll think about it. For now, hold me until the sun is finished setting.”

* * *

_ May, 1900 _

“Yes."

Following her statement, he did something she had never seen him do before - freeze in his tracks. 

The fork and knife he was using to cut his steak fell out of his hand so quickly it left the porcelain dinnerware clattering against the dark wood of the table.

"What?" He asked, incredulous, eyes wide and mouth agape.

"Yes, I will marry you." She said, a smug smile crossing her face as she sipped her wine.

He quickly shut his jaw and regained composure. "I did not ask anything."

"You didn't have to."

"And how did you come to this assumption?"

"I have had ten marriages before you, Stefan, and though they were brief, they were quite lavish. I know when I'm being proposed to, properly, and I appreciate the sentiment very much."

"This  _ could  _ just be a pleasant evening dinner that I wanted to share with you."

"Drop the charade, my dear, did you really think I wouldn't figure it out? The candlelight, the lavish steak dinner, the new gown, dancing under the stars? This is no ordinary dinner and we both know it."

He rolled his eyes and huffed. "Congratulations. You figured out that my intention is to propose to you."

"And now that it's out in the open you wouldn't dare go back on that intention." She lifted her head in an air of superiority.

"No." He chuckled. "I would not."

He rose, reaching into his cape and pulling out a small velvet box. "I suppose I should get on with it, then."

He opened the box and pulled the ring out. "I was hoping to surprise you…"

"What are you doing?" Sarah asked in a frantic shock.

"You already said yes, this is your engagement ring now."

"Put it back! I don't want to know what it looks like until you kneel in front of me with it. You may still surprise me yet."

His eyebrows raised at this, and he shut the box. "Very well. This is your night, your wish is my command, my lady."

Sarah sat up a little taller, a little straighter as he walked around the table to where she was seated, but she could not help the smile that spread across her face and the excited bouncing that overtook her. It was happening, her dream proposal with her dream suitor. She had never felt as giddy and dazed during her previous proposals. This would be perfect - it was already perfect. How would she accept him? Haughtily? Happily? Proudly? Coyly? Maybe all of them at once, given she could contain her enthusiasm.

"My love, I was wondering if you would do me the honor of spending eternity with me?"

"Oh, let me think, I-" Her coquettishness ceased at the sight of him.

He was so handsome and earnest, more so than she had ever seen him. His eyes were vulnerable looking up at her, and his lips were parted, sucking in a hopeful breath. He was open, and honest and laying himself bare for her. 

"Yes. Of course I'll marry you, Stefan." 

A smile crossed his face. "You will…"

"I will, I truly will. I finally will."

He pulled out the ring - a gorgeous, deep garnet of a dark red, like sweet blood flowing from a wound, surrounded in a setting of gold and seed pearls. All ten of her previous rings had been diamonds, they were all the rage on the continent, and they ranged from tasteful and elegant to gaudy and ostentatious. Stefan, instead, had put thought into his selection, and it was the most precious thing she could have imagined, both for its beauty and its originality.

He slid the ring onto her finger and gave her hand a kiss. "You were born to wear this."

"And I was born to be yours?"

"No, you decided to be mine of your own volition, and I'm thankful every night that you came back to me. I just meant the ring, it suits you. This life suits you very well and I believe I can make you very happy."

They stood and made their way to the balcony to take in the fresh night air as they waltzed. 

"Do you know what would make me very happy?" She said with a smile as he spun her around.

"What, my love?"

"If we could get married tonight."

His face turned soft, wistful. "Sarah, I'm delighted to hear you say that, but there is a half moon tonight, we can only go so fast with planning the ceremony."

"Well we could practice for it…"

"Oh?"

"You've already drank my blood, you know how it tastes. Now I want to taste yours."

"Oh." He loosened his hold on her, unsure of how to process her request.

"What's the matter, dear, afraid a young girl will overpower you?"

"No, of course not." He replied sharply. "It is just...rather intimate."

"Is  _ rather intimate  _ not what we are? Not what we have been since the night you crashed through my window and invited me to the ball? Not what we should be in the future as husband and wife?"

He sighed. "You're right."

He removed his cravat, loosening his waistcoat and unbuttoning his shirt to expose the beating pulse in his neck. "There you are, my love. All yours."

Sarah felt her fangs protrude as she spotted it, the gorgeous, pulsing vein in his neck that contained the very essence of him. She wanted to do this elegantly, cleanly, delicately, ceremoniously.

That was not what happened.

Instead her instincts took over and she lunged at his neck, predatory and possessive as her fangs pierced into his skin. She came at him with such force that she almost knocked him over, and he had to catch all the skirts of her dress up into his arms as she wrapped her legs around him. The blood came gushing out of the punctures much more quickly than expected, but she latched onto him for dear life, lapping it up as soon as it came out, as if it were keeping her alive.

And oh, how she  _ relished  _ the taste of him as it flowed out of his icy skin and hit her tongue. It was a fitting flavor, gamey and tangy and wild, reflecting the ferocious passions and inhibitions he kept so tightly locked under his cool and regal demeanor. Passions that only she could access, blood that he would only let her drink.

She was so enthralled with the taste of him that she did not let up, and his knees buckled, causing him to fall kneeling to the patio below, like a sinner looking for absolution at the altar. Sarah rather liked that she was able to bring him to his knees twice in the same night.

"My love…" he croaked and Sarah pulled back, licking every last stray drop of blood from his skin before giving him some space.

After regaining his breath, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his handkerchief, offering it to her.

"I won't be needing that." Sarah responded, gleefully catching the drops of blood from her cheeks and bringing them to her mouth in a flirtatious manner. "You always taught me not to waste my food."

He stumbled back to his feet in a rather clumsy fashion for him, and buttoned himself up once more.

"Well my love," he turned to her while wrapping his cloak around himself. "I am certain that with you, married life shall never be boring."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to my friends caramelcosmiclatte, sameoldghost, and opheliarose7 for being great betas! Also thank you to a-touch-of-darknesss on tumblr for letting me use her Black Widow Sarah HC! Come visit at reydiogaga.tumblr.com or on twitter @JediKnightley!


End file.
